Licence · Health Victoria
Victoria’s pest control licence
In Victoria, anyone who uses pesticides in the course of a pest control business must hold a pest control licence, unless the work falls into one of a few listed purposes such as agriculture or weed control. The licence is a photo ID card, red for a fully qualified technician and green for a trainee, and Health Victoria keeps a public register of every current holder.
A guide published by Dotto from Health Victoria’s pest control pages. General information, not legal advice: the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 and the department’s pages are the authority.
Who needs one
The Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 defines a pest control operator as “a person who carries on or holds themselves out in any way as carrying on the business of controlling, destroying or repelling pests”. Under the Act, anyone who uses pesticides in the course of that business, or lets another person use them, must hold a valid licence. Health Victoria says the licensing is designed to keep pesticides from harming operators, their customers, the public and the environment.
The Act leaves out pesticide use for these purposes:
- horticulture, such as treating fruit and vegetables, flowers, ornamental plants, seeds, or soil and potting mixes
- agriculture, such as treating grain, pulses, hay, logs or stock animals
- water treatment
- weed control
- controlling a pest animal anywhere other than a commercial building, a home, or privately owned land next to a home.
A business doing that work for a fee may need a different permission: a commercial operator licence under the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Control of Use) Act 1992.
The four authorisations
A licence may carry one or more authorisations, and it lets the holder use only the pesticides they are qualified to use. Health Victoria’s 2018 factsheet for householders suggests checking that the authorisation on the card fits the job.
| Authorisation | What it covers |
|---|---|
| General, excluding timber pests | Pesticides other than fumigants, for pests including birds and rodents, but not pest animals or timber pests. |
| General, including timber pests | The same, with timber pests added. Pest animals are still excluded. |
| Pest animal | Pesticides for pest animals, to protect a commercial building, a home, or private land next to a home. The 2018 factsheet’s examples are rabbits and foxes in and around buildings in urban areas. |
| Fumigant | Pesticides in the form of fumigants. The factsheet describes this as mainly specialised work, such as fumigating furniture, machinery and clothing for quarantine. |
Technician or trainee
There are two kinds of licence. A trainee is enrolled in, or doing, a prescribed course, and may use pesticides only under the supervision of someone with a technician licence.
| Technician | Trainee | |
|---|---|---|
| Photo ID card | Red | Green |
| Lasts | 3 years from the date it is granted | 12 months; issued to one person no more than 3 times unless exceptional circumstances apply |
| Fee | $777.20 | $259.10 |
| Works | Within the authorisations on the licence | Under a technician’s supervision |
Supervision comes in two steps. Under direct supervision, the trainee applies pesticides within sight and hearing of the supervisor at all times. Once the trainee has satisfactorily done at least four applications against a particular pest, and the supervisor has declared it on Health Victoria’s form, the trainee may treat that pest under indirect supervision, which can include contact by telephone or two-way radio.
The conditions on every licence
Every Victorian licence carries written conditions, and it is an offence to breach one. Among the conditions that apply to all licence holders, the holder must:
- use only the pesticides, or classes of pesticide, named on the licence
- apply chemicals according to the label’s directions and safety information
- hold current Safety Data Sheets for the chemicals they use
- store chemicals safely, securely and legally
- contain or clean up leaks and spills; spills that may endanger health or the environment should be reported immediately to the Environment Protection Authority and to the department.
Operators must also keep certain records for every pesticide application on every job. Where the department finds a breach, its options run from a formal warning, an infringement notice or an added condition, through to cancelling the licence or prosecution.
A pest control licence covers pesticides. Removing or destroying native wildlife, such as possums, is governed by the Wildlife Act 1975 and needs written approval, usually a wildlife licence or an authority to control wildlife; the category for the pest control industry is the Wildlife Controller licence. Health Victoria’s page still names the issuing department by its former name, DELWP.
Checking a licence
Health Victoria’s 2018 factsheet for people hiring a pest control service sets out these checks:
- See the cardThe Victorian licence is a photo ID.
- Read the authorisationCheck that it covers your kind of job, using the table above.
- Search the registerHealth Victoria’s register of licensed pest control operators gives each current operator’s name and licence expiry date.
- Ask about insuranceThe factsheet suggests checking that the operator has sufficient insurance, and asking questions.
The factsheet also says that a licensed operator should identify the pest and its habitat, work out a management plan, handle and store pesticides safely, and explain the pesticides they use.
A licence from another state
Under automatic mutual recognition, a worker licensed in their home state or territory may be able to do the same work in Victoria without a new application or extra registration fees. Health Victoria’s page links to the details of who is eligible.